paixaorpg | Out of Utopia [active]

Entry tags:

Out of Utopia [active]

Character(s): Harpuia, Envy, Zero and anyone who wants to see a robot
Content: Harpuia enters Paixao and meets a familiar face.
Setting: Muspelheim Gate
Time: Late afternoon
Warnings: None

Harpuia made his way to the conference room, his metal boots clicking on the marble floors with every step. Plans, plans, they were always making plans. Plans to bring the resistance out of hiding, plans to preempt them, plans to rebuild the parts of the palace that had crumbled during Zero's raid. But Harpuia didn't mind; he was the one who made them, with the help of his siblings, of course.

The reploid stopped in front of the door and watched it hiss open before he walked on through, straight into... some place that definitely wasn't the conference room.

Somehow he had ended up outside with no sight of Neo Arcadia in any direction. All there was was a line, and a rather long one at that, stretching to what Harpuia could only assume was the entrance to the domed city in the distance. Having no other leads, he stepped into line and waited his turn patiently, making it up to the gatekeeper far quicker than he thought he would.

"Welcome to Paixao!" the blond-haired man said with a smile on his face as he handed Harpuia an odd green device and a pamphlet (why did Harpuia suddenly feel like he was on vacation?). "I'll need your name, please."

Harpuia was hesitant to give any information to a stranger, but, seeing as he had no other choice, he'd go ahead and go along with it. After all, it was just his name he was giving. "Harpuia," he said, doubting the gatekeeper would know the meaning behind--or even care--about his title. Once the blond man nodded in acknowledgment, Harpuia headed inside the gates, hoping to figure out what exactly had happened.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nothing happens in a week, Envy had discovered. Sure, there had been this big festival, but really, who cared? He'd gone to check it out, and it was just useless. Even the fights had been boring. So he'd just left, and soon found himself hanging out by the gates. He'd also found that camouflage meant virtually nothing in a city where nobody gave you a second look, especially if the nobody in question was blonde, blue eyed, and utterly lacking in fashion sense. Townspeople were easy to spot and even easier to mess around with - so easy, in fact, that he'd soon grown bored of them too. Some city this was.

So catching sight of a green man at the gate piqued his interest. That was not a color you usually found on someone - at least, not a human someone. He grinned, falling in step behind the green guy and leaning over his shoulder. Time to be creepy and nasty - finally, a chance to exercise what he did best. "You look like you're lost."

Harpuia immediately and instinctively jumped to the side, pulling out his twin energy blades and falling into a battle stance. Once he had assessed the situation, however, he put the weapons away and relaxed. "Forgive me for that. I don't take well to being surprised," he said with a slight incline of the head.

"I am, at the moment. Do you have any information on this place?" He looked down at the little machine he was given for a second, seeming to stare off into space as he scanned it. "At least this communications device seems to have a map..." he muttered, delicately turning the journal over in his hands.

"Whoa," Envy held up both hands, smiling and acting genial. Mentally, he was simply laughing that he'd managed to freak this guy out that much. This was so much better than messing with those blond idiots. "Somebody's touchy."

"Yeah, you're in a city that won't let you leave," he continued offhandedly. "If you wanna test the theory, the gate's back that way."

Harpuia stared at the man in front of him confusedly. "I don't like to be surprised, especially from behind," he replied simply. He wasn't annoyed, really. Harpuia'd just drawn a weapon to the man, after all, so the man had every right to be annoyed with him. But he was taking it in stride, which was good.

"No thank you. I'm familiar enough with such policies. For safety, right?" he asked. Neo Arcadia had had similar rules, rules that Harpuia himself had helped to enforce.

For the second time that day, Paixao was being introduced to a mechanical lifeform.

This one seemed a study in scarlet and silver, his armor gleaming in the artificial sun. The gatekeeper did not seem too surprised, beaming as he handed over the red device and asked for this new arrival's name.

"Welcome to Paixao, ma'am! Your name, please?"

With a very slight smirk, this figure, in a voice that left no doubts to his gender, replied, "My name is Zero."

"Ah, relax." Envy waved off the green guy's complaints as if they didn't matter - which, to him, they really didn't. "Not like there's something hiding in the walls that's gonna jump out and get you." Not that he knew of, at least.

"Who the hell knows?" Envy shrugged again. "Though I doubt it's for anyone's "safety.'" A rather unpleasant grin grew on his face at the thought. "More like someone's "plans.'"

He glanced back once again at the gates, then gave them another look, almost surprised to see another brightly-colored figure had appeared in the short space of time it had taken him to make a few mildly sarcastic comments. And this one was red, a sharp contrast to the green one standing next to him. Well, what d'you know - Christmas. "Looks like you've got a friend over there," he added lightly.

"Someone's plans?" Harpuia asked, "What makes you think that?" It was an interesting statement to be sure. This place seemed innocent enough. Strange, but innocent. The policies most likely really were for safety and people here just didn't understand. Harpuia wondered if anyone had bothered to fully explain. Although... he himself was now curious as to what might lay outside the domes to warrant such policy.

He paused, wondering if the voice he had just heard was only in his imagination, but when the human made his comment, Harpuia turned to look, curious. His relatively neutral expression fell to a frown as he caught sight of the red armor in the distance. "A friend indeed..." he commented off-handedly before making his way over to the other reploid.

"Zero... A pleasure to see you again," he began with a smirk. It faltered for a second, replaced with confusion as Harpuia suddenly realized that the resistance member seemed to have undergone a change in design, but was brought back again almost instantly.

Zero gave the reploid a look, combining both puzzlement and a distinct lack of impression. "Do I know you?" he asked calmly, looking over the green 'bot.

The design put him in mind of Mantis, but the color - among other things - was all wrong. "You don't have the signature of a Maverick," he said, after a quick scan, though his tone was doubtful.

As for the organic, he was registering some odd energy levels, but Zero wasn't about to confront him. After all, this wasn't anyplace he knew of - maybe he was just a local example of humanity?

"Oh, look around." Envy waved a hand lightly at the city. "You don't really think this is Utopia, do you? Plenty of weird stuff around here, and not all of it's nice." He neglected to mention he was one of those not-so-nice things. Why spoil his own fun?

But he fell silent and with a growing smirk watched Christmas - that was what he was going to call the two, he decided - go down. Evidently they were none too fond of each other, sizing each other up like cats before one took the first swipe at the other. All he had to do was stick around and watch the show.

He grit his teeth, glaring harshly at Zero. "Maverick?!" How... How dare he even imply such a thing! The reploid calmed himself, however. There was no need for him to lose his cool and end up starting a fight, especially not around a civilian. That would only give more reason for him to be thought an Irregular.

"I can assure you that I'm not," he said, trying his best not to be curt, "Nor would I ever sink to become one."

Christmas? Now there's a concept. Red and green might have been the requisite colors, but these two were anything but jolly.

Hearing Harpuia's assurances that he was not, in fact, a Maverick did little to alleviate the odd feeling he was getting. "Many have claimed the same thing you have," he said, keeping his attention focused on the other reploid. "And most of them were lying through their vocal grids."

Well, this was certainly turning out to be interesting. Evidently Green knew Red, but not the other way around. This could get very ugly, Envy realized with some satisfaction, reading the tension so taut it was nearly visible in the afternoon air. They weren't doing anything yet, though...

Oh, they weren't holding back because he was there, were they? There was no point in that - Envy would survive most anything they could throw at him, and he was bored. Watching a good fight was what he enjoyed most, after all, especially coupled with the satisfaction of knowing he'd started it. Ishbal had been beautiful.

"So." He crossed his arms, speaking flippantly and going right for the direct approach. "Are you two gonna fight or what?"

Harpuia gave one last scathing look towards the red robot before looking over at the human. Fight? Oh, he wanted to. Being called an Irregular... That was one insult that Harpuia couldn't take lightly.

"No, we're not," Harpuia responded simply, if not a bit coldly. Another time, perhaps. Sometime when there weren't human lives at stake. He would have to hold back if a fight started here, and holding back was not an option when facing Zero. Harpuia had learned that the first time he was defeated. The robot was powerful, skilled, and resourceful, a great opponent. He supposed that that alone almost made it a discourtesy--even rude--to not fight at his best.

"If he's not a Maverick, I have no reason to fight him," Zero said, giving the human a look. With a slight head shake, he returned his attention to Harpuia. "I meant no disrespect. You do not conform to any known template, and your manner is similar to at least three known Mavericks. You do not, however, seem to be infected." So, I guess that just makes you what the humans call an ass.

Zero had no intention of fighting anyone until he had his bearings. For all he knew, he and this other reploid were the only two of their kind here. "You seem to know of me. That puts me at a disadvantage, because I do not know even your name, much less your capabilities." Zero gave Harpuia a slight smirk, and just a hint of a head-tilt. "Would you mind correcting at least the former?" Zero had a sense of humor. Who knew? "And your name as well?" he said, addressing the humanoid. Not human; the sensor readings were all wrong, and Zero had a gut feeling.

Well, that was disappointing. Next time, Envy would either have to try harder or be less directly involved. He was never any good at that, though - damn all that masterminding stuff, all he wanted was some blood.

Oh well.

"Oh, me?" Envy waved a hand lightly, as if waving the question away. "I'm not important. Just passing through."

Harpuia looked over Zero again, confusion written all over his face. Zero didn't know him at all? And he kept speaking of the Irregulars, as though he were still fighting them. The Zero that he had met barely even remembered them. Something was amiss, though what that was exactly, Harpuia only had a feeling of.

"Harpuia, general of Neo Arcadia's air squadron," he replied, pausing for a minute or so before continuing, "I... suppose you haven't heard about it."

"Not important?" Harpuia asked of the human, wondering why someone would say something like that about themselves.

Zero shared Harpuia's suspicions as to the humanoid's declaration, but he couldn't really do anything about them. "Neo Arcadia? I'm not familiar with it," he replied, confirming Harpuia's conclusion.

If Envy was disappointed, Zero was curious. What was the human's stake in seeing the two of them fight? Was he just that sadistic? Or did he have some other motive?

Those were considerations for another time, though. What mattered now was that he find some way of rejoining his companions, if there were any of them here, and establishing a base of operations. Which would mean establishing supply lines, finding a source of energy...

"Nope," Envy replied lightly, ad-libbing like mad. "Just here for a day or two, seeing the sights, meeting the people, then it's back home to my family." Lies, lies, and more lies, to be sure, but the biggest lie was the easy smile on his face.

Well, Green didn't seem to be too much of a threat, but Red was a smart one. He didn't seem to be falling for any of Envy's lies, at least.

Harpuia nodded at Zero. He was still suspicious of the robot, but said nothing. Only time would tell, it seemed, though from what he could tell, Zero seemed to come from the past. Harpuia was careful not to let his curiosity get the best of him. As interesting as it was to be able to learn from a legendary Irregular Hunter, the possibility still remained that this was all an act.

His suspicion was growing in regard to the human, however. Most of the inhabitants seemed to be blond and blue eyed. The one in front of him had green hair and violet eyes. But he had to have a reason for being so secretive, didn't he? Either way, it was none of his business.

Zero's eyes immediately narrowed at Envy. "How would one go about leaving, if you're doing so in a day or so?" Valuable information, that, and if this stranger knew how...

Well, it would certainly be beneficial to know. People with secrets have a tendency to be on the shady side, and given that only the three of them - Zero, Harpuia, and this stranger, who refused to give even his name - were in any way different from the visible populace, the whole situation put Zero on edge. This guy had the same feel as Lumine; harmless on the surface, but there was something in there...

Considering the guy who'd gotten him here (and was his way home) had up and disappeared not two days ago, Envy really had no answer to that question. So he did what he did best, and what he'd been doing so far: lied.

He raised an eyebrow at Red, facial expression clearly stating that it was the stupidest question he'd ever heard. "Through the gate." He jerked a thumb at the gate, still clearly visible several blocks away. "Duh."

The answer sounded logical enough, but Harpuia still couldn't rid himself of the feeling that something was off. He glanced over at the pamphlet, flicking through and taking in the information as soon as he even saw the words or diagrams, no need to actually read. "But this states that there's nothing beyond this city worth mentioning and that this is an island," Harpuia pointed out, "And I'd think it'd be mentioned if there was a harbor out there to get somewhere else."

Unless they all just wanted everyone in one place to make sure everyone was all right. And then he slowly realized something. Harpuia's expression shifted from confusion to down and out suspicion. "And you said before that no one was allowed to leave."

Harpuia had a valid point, and Zero was already on the suspicious side of wary towards this organic. "What're you trying to hide?" he asked, arms folded and glowering at Envy. And why?

The longer he stood there, the more wrong it all felt. Why was this human trying to deceive them? What was he hiding? Was he, in fact, any different from himself and Harpuia - stuck and bewildered? Pride and its ilk were human traits... Maybe the guy just didn't want to admit that he didn't know?

[And Envy scrambles to make up for MASSIVE MUN-FAIL.]

Envy couldn't decide whether the dominant response to his careless lying was oops or oh shit, but he was definitely having each in equal amounts, at least mentally. He put on a big smile, gave a sheepish laugh, (overtaxed his acting skills,) and said, "Oh, did I say that?" as though it were simply a huge joke and he'd been caught before the punch line. "I was just messing with you. D'you really think they'd keep people here?" Tell the truth a little and lie like a rug to cover it up. He had a feeling Red wouldn't buy it. "If you don't believe me, go test it out." He gestured towards the gate, with every intention to simply disappear the second they were distracted.

ool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. That was how the saying went, wasn't it? Right or not, Harpuia wasn't about to be fooled a second time. The human had already shown his duplicity enough for Harpuia to doubt him. Still... There might have been a chance that he was telling the truth.

Harpuia's gaze shifted to the gate and he wondered whether or not he should attempt to exit the city. But why would he need to? He would prove the human right or wrong and nothing else. "Or you could," Harpuia suggested.

Zero was unconvinced, to put it mildly. This man had already proven himself a liar and secretive in general; what reason did he have to believe him now?

"Harpuia, stay here. Keep an eye on our... friend. Don't stop him if he tries to run, but make a note of his direction and speed. If his words prove false, his reasons for lying might bear looking into."

Never one to hesitate, Zero activated the jets in his legs and dashed toward the gate. Even as he did so, he could see one of the gatekeepers moving to intercept him...

They fell for it. They fell for it. Couple of complete morons, these two, but Envy wouldn't be sticking around to gloat. The second Red's back was turned he was out of there, not even bothering to retort to Green's remark. Red's instructions didn't worry him too much, either - after all, these guys were going to be keeping an eye out for somebody who looked like him.

Not a problem at all - Envy rarely looked like himself as it was. These guys would never find him.

With that thought and an accompanying smirk, he turned the corner, turned another, and left the gate behind.

[Consider this an exit~]

Harpuia nodded to Zero, watching the man closely. Surely he wouldn't try to run while being watched. In any case, he had seen Zero dash over to the gate, Harpuia figured the man would likely come to the conclusion that Harpuia could do the same.

...Or he would go ahead and run.

Harpuia stood in place for a second, completely shocked that the man would pick this course of action with what he had seen. Either this man was a fool or was just overly confident in himself. Harpuia frowned and dashed forward, looking around quickly. Damn... He'd slipped away. The reploid mentally kicked himself for a minute. He shouldn't have assumed. It was likely what the suspicious individual had been banking on.

Harpuia was soon in the air to get a better look, eyes darting this way and that as he attempted to search for the man by sight, switching to a scan when that yielded no result. He reluctantly turned to the ground after that, scowling and shaking his head. He had let the man get away.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Out of Utopia [active]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject